The Actors Lounge

Daniel Croix Henderson attended the State University of New York's Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase as a member of the class of 2017. He joins the ranks of other notable Purchase alumni such as Parker Posey, Melissa Leo, Wesley Snipes, Edie Falco, Stanley Tucci, Sherry Stringfield and Hal Hartley.

He made his New York stage debut in the New York Times Critic Pick: Kenny Leon's 'Much Ado About Nothing' alongside Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black) and Jeremie Harris (Legion, Fargo). The historic production was the first entirely African-American cast at The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park.

While in rehearsal for Much Ado, he flew to Atlanta to audition for Tyler Perry, where he landed his breakout role - starring as Jason Franklin on BET's 'The Oval'.

Born in the beautiful city of Berlin, Germany, Novi Brown has been  able to explore many of Earth's treasures. But, New York City holds the  key to this actor's thespian heart. Sporadically, Novi has dabbled in  the arts since a young age, varying from the stage to the piano. In  2011, Novi graduated Magna Cum Laude from The City College of New York  with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.  Novi's Theatre experience ranges  from The Vagina Monologues, Dutchman and Boston Marriage.

Novi has played lead in over 15 productions from TV to short film to feature films. The Entertainment Industry has  proven a perfect fit for this ambitious young actress - with her eyes on  the prize, she is now ready to tackle the BIG SCREEN.

Print work has led Novi to work with some amazing clients, which include, Essence  Magazine, Swarovski, Frito-Lays, Scholastic, Lifetime Movie Network,  UP! TV, Swirl Films, ID Channel, Budweiser, HBO Shorts, and E! Networks +  many, many more. Her commercial work includes, CarMax and three (3) ORS spots.

Warren Burke is an actor-writer-improviser-pizza connoisseur from Chicago, IL. After graduating from the Tennessee State University with a Business Administration Degree, Warren put his pricey diploma in the recycling bin and moved to Los Angeles, CA to pursue his acting career. You can catch Warren on shows like The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Grey's Anatomy, and Blunt Talk, but most recently, you will see him being the wild-energetic "Uncle Daniel" of Netflix's Original Show "Family Reunion". He has honed his comedic skill through training grounds such as Upright Citizen Brigade, The Groundlings Theatre, and being featured as a main performer for the 2018 NBC Diversity Showcase. Tune in this Fall to catch Warren as "Greg Washington" on BET's newest show Bigger" (produced by Will Packer).

Reece Odum is a native of Atlanta GA. This award winning actress has  always had a true love for the performing arts. In just a short time,  her acting career quickly flourished allowing her the opportunity of  completing several film and television projects where she performed in  lead and principal roles. She has had recurring roles on "The Vampire  Diaries" (CW) , "Saints and Sinners" (Bounce TV). Her films and  television shows include: "Ambitions" (OWN), "The Secret She Kept" ((TV  One), "Killer Posts" (Oxygen) , "What Love Will Make You Do" (BET Her),  "Mr. Right" (BET) , "Lyfe's Journey" (UP TV), "The Last Time" (Aspire  TV) and "The Wish".

Racquel Bailey is a  wife and mother of two children, 13 year old son Elijah and 14month old  daughter Diana, whom stepped out on faith. Feeling as if having a  calling to impact the world through acting, she did what most may call  crazy. She dedicated her life to showing others who great her God is.  Understanding that without faith it's impossible to please God, she took  a leap of faith.

Anthony Meindl is an LA-based Writer/Director/Teacher/Founder of AMAW studios worldwide, with studios in LA, London, NY, Santa Fe, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney and Atlanta. He has also taught internationally in Sofia, Rome, Capetown, Melbourne, and Paris.  He has guest lectured at the Gaiety School/The National Theatre School of Ireland, the prestigious Moscow Art Theater, the Actors Centre London, and is the guest acting teacher at David Lynch's Masters of Filmmaking Program in Fairfield, Iowa.   He is the author of three books: The best-selling At Left Brain Turn Right, Book The Fucking Job and Alphabet Soup for Grown-ups.

A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Shayla Love holds a diverse background in theatre, television, film and radio.  During her time in Las Vegas, she was known as a spoken word poet and  for 3 years, the youngest on-air personality at KCEP-FM Power 88. In  2011, she relocated to Atlanta, Georgia to further her creative career  in film and television. Some of her network television credits include: Star, Being Mary Jane, Queen Sugar, and  Ozark. She received a Suzi Bass Award in 2017 for her performance in  the regional premiere of the Tony nominated play, "Eclipsed". Between  stage and screen, Shayla lends her love of storytelling to creating and producing original content. Most  recently, she was commissioned by the city of Las Vegas as the script  writer for the 23rd year of the historical West Las Vegas Arts Center’s  Performing and Visual Arts Camp. In July 2019, her original musical  “#Viral” premiered at The Smith Center in Las Vegas—the only Equity  house in the state of the Nevada. This holiday season, she can be seen  as "Kai" in the television movie Hip Hop Holiday alongside Ta'rhonda Jones, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Andra Fuller.

Actor Kareem Grimes has not only believed that he would be a success in life, he is a living testament to that school of thought. The Los Angeles native has had his sights set on gracing the silver screen since the age of nine and has never once looked back. As a child he would watch the popular television show Different Strokes and convinced himself that he could play the role that Gary Coleman so eloquently coveted. Kareem’s natural comedic timing and innate ability to entertain made that goal not in the least bit far fetched. Nicknamed “Baby Flip” for his questionable resemblance to super comic Flip Wilson, the budding thespian would pretend as if he was Flip’s character “Geraldine” to the delight of anyone who would listen. “I was always that kid who pop-locked at the party, always showboating. I loved the attention and pretending to be someone that I wasn’t,” he maintains. Little did he know that during those same impromptu sessions, he was building a foundation that would later prepare him for his foray into a world of cattle calls, agents, unions, and the usual barrage of auditions.

By the time he was a teenager, he was well versed on the in’s and out’s of the business; displaying professionalism, passion, and dedication to his craft. Things really started to roll, John Singleton gave him his first speaking roll in Boyz N The Hood ( Ice Cream Truck kid) . Though just playing a bit part, he delivered such an impressive performance that folks began to take notice and he soon found himself rubbing elbows with some industry heavyweights. His passion for acting and faith in God slowly brought him out of the trenches to landing plum roles in television shows, TV (SWAT ,Unsolved Biggie & Tupac Murders, Star, NCIS, C.S.I, Love by the 10th Date , A Recurring role on the CW's Show All American as "Preach".) commercials (Cricket Wireless, Pizza Hut, Subway, Coors Light,24 Hour Fitness, Bud Light), theater NAACP Award Winning Play Sassy Mamma's, The Edgeucation  Comedy Sketch Show), and feature films (TheMule ,Jarhead, Baby Boy, The Preachers Son, Too Legit To Quit The MC Hammer Story, Legendary ). “You’ve got to know that you want this. You got to eat, sleep, and live it. It’s not just something that’s part time for me, it’s an everyday thing. Like I always say to my friends-treat your career like it’s a bank account, if you deposit into your career, your returns will be great,” Kareem Grimes